COVID-19 and Your Taxes

At TaxAct, nothing is more important to us than the health and well-being of our customers, employees, and the communities in which we live and work. During this time, we encourage you to make every effort to stay as protected as possible. Rest assured, we are equipped to continue offering all of our services without interruptions so you can continue to sucessfully operate your business.

COVID-19 tax implications

On March 20, the Secretary of Treasury announced the tax deadline to file federal income tax returns has been extended to July 15, 2020. You now have an extra 90 days to file client returns. No additional paperwork is needed to take advantage of the extension. Read the official IRS notice.

Note: If you have a client who needs additional time beyond July 15, 2020 to file their return, they will need to file an extension. The traditional extension deadline of Oct. 15 then applies.

Several states also adjusted their filing deadlines in response to the pandemic. A few made the jump before the federal deadline was pushed and others are now adjusting their dates based on the recent guidance. Changes to state deadlines can be found at our COVID-19 State Deadlines FAQ page.

Prior to the extension of the filing deadline, the decision was made to push out the tax payment deadline to July 15, 2020. That means all of your individual and non-corporate clients who have a tax bill this season have an extra 90 days to make their payment without accruing penalties and interest. This deferment also applies to estimated tax payments originally due on April 15 for tax year 2020.

The IRS is still open

Despite the impact of COVID-19 and a recent reduction in staff, the IRS is still processing returns and issuing refunds like normal. If you have a client who is due a refund, they can anticipate receiving their money within the normal IRS processing time once their return is filed.

In an effort to prevent the spread of the virus, however, the agency has temporarily closed all Taxpayer Assistance Centers and discontinued face-to-face service throughout the country.

Continue to check this page as well as the Notification Center within the TaxAct Professional product for the most recent updates on the tax season changes related to COVID-19. And as always, if you have any questions, our Pro Support Team is available to help.